United Steelworkers (USW) International President Leo Gerard has issued a
statement “on the lack of transparency and other outcomes” being negotiated
in the current proposed trade deal with 11 Asian nations known as
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Gerard’s statement:

“Workers want a new trade policy that will create jobs, promote rising wages
and reduce our trade deficit, but our TPP negotiators are headed in the
wrong direction.

“An effective agreement cannot just merely reduce tariffs. It must open
markets to our exports, prohibit state-owned enterprises from engaging in
non-commercial transactions, eliminate currency manipulation--and most
important, ensure that workers actually benefit from their hard work rather
than seeing their jobs offshored and outsourced.

“The TPP is far from achieving these goals and negotiators should stop
setting arbitrary deadlines. Success should only be measured by the number
of domestic jobs that are created and the increase in average workers’
living standards. We will oppose the TPP as it stands. If the $8 trillion
accumulated U.S. trade deficit is a good thing, then why do China and other
countries not want to run trade deficits as well?”